Lift veil of secrecy from ports negotiations: Guest commentary

The deadline for reaching agreement on a new labor contract governing America’s 29 West Coast ports passes at 5 p.m. Tuesday, and the scant amount of insight or information on the future status of a new contract worries many.

About 12.5 percent of the U.S. GDP currently flows through the ports, and 9.2 million jobs across America — including 3.7 million in California alone — depend on the efficient flow of goods on and off the docks. Industries spanning agriculture to manufacturing, from autos to electronics, and across all sectors of retail are currently scampering to implement contingency plans given that neither a new contract nor a contract extension has been announced.

Both the Pacific Maritime Association, which represents the shipping companies and employers, and the International Longshore Workers Union, which represents the 20,000 dock workers throughout the ports in California, Oregon and Washington, are staying tight-lipped about the talks that have been ongoing for two months. It has been widely reported that rising health care costs are a major sticking point, given that the longshoremen, retirees and their families enjoy one of the most envied health care plans available in America today, with unlimited coverage at little or no cost. Also, it’s also understood that West Coast ports have been leaking market share for the past decade or more, as competing ports on America’s East and Gulf coasts have been lowering costs, improving performance and building infrastructure to attract greater shipping volumes. Global manufacturing patterns too are shifting, putting more origination points closer to East and Gulf coast destinations.

Suddenly, the West Coast is not the monopoly it used to be — and current lack of an agreement or extension only hastens shippers’ efforts to further diversify their transportation networks. In Southern California, the information “blackout” by PMA and ILWU only fuels the worries of employees, families, politicians, communities and businesses small and large, who together wonder if we’ll see a repeat of 2002’s billion-dollar-per-day coast-wide shut down. Information is limited, but the questions aren’t:

• How close are the parties to reaching a new contract?

• What issues have already been fully resolved, and which still remain?

• Will an extension be formalized to assuage concerns while talks continue?

• Will the union engage in work slowdowns if an extension can’t be signed?

• Can the ports continue to operate efficiently, with everyday issues and grievances resolved amicably, without an extension?

Given the critical importance of the ports in today’s local and regional economies, and for the sake of the millions of people who depend on the uninterrupted flow of goods in and out of America, we call upon the ILWU and PMA to lift the veil of secrecy so that everyone who relies on the ports has visibility into the progress of the talks. Such transparency is essential, especially given what is at stake now — and for years to come.

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Gary L. Toebben is president and CEO of the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce.